Rating: 
Summary: One version of this movie is great, the other is terrible...
Review: I am giving this review 3 stars because I know Amazon will apply it to both of the two versions of this movie they sell, the R-rated one and the unrated (probably NC-17) one. Quite simply, the R-rated one (which I saw) is maybe 2 stars, and (according to my wife, a native Mexican) the unrated is 4-5 stars. Hence, an average of 3 stars.My wife, a professor of Spanish Literature at a major US university, first saw this movie at a film festival and came home to tell me I had to see it. Well, by & by it came out on DVD and I rented it, picking up the R rate one, not realizing there were two versions. Comparing the technical data, it appears there are 5-6 minutes cut from the original (unrated) version for this R version. As we watched the movie, my wife almost immediately began saying "huh, what's going on?" Almost all of the most explicit scenes were cut. Based upon what my wife said of what they were (I have yet to see the full version), the first few expurgations were of only minor relevance to the plot, but the very final one (most of the scene in the cabana during the last night the boys spent with Luisa on the beach) is absolutely critical to understanding the whole point of the movie, and what happened in the conclusion. Obviously I don't want to say what happened & what was said in that scene missing from the R-rated version, since it would ruin the movie, and I don't want to do that to anyone. As it is, watching this R-rated version has ruined it for me -- sure I can go and look for the unrated one, but it won't be the same now that I already know what will happen. Put simply, the R-rated version has a totally incoherent ending due to the cuts made to achieve the R rating. I found it completely unsatisfying, and my wife (who loved the full version, which I presume to be the one on the "unrated" DVD) said she would also have had a totally different opinion of hte movie had she seen only the R-rated one. The unrated is not for the sexually squeamish apparently -- the movie shows male sexuality in a way that Hollywood never would; remember the near NC-17 rating some movie recently almost got because it showed even just a male star's bare behind? -- but for the most part the sexuality is apparently "realistic" and plot-driven, not gratuitous. In summary, my wife, who has seen both, would say that if you are willing to "risk" offense at the explicit sexual scenes of the unrated verson, it is a must-see; but if you are nervous and would opt for the R-rated version, don't bother, it is a waste of time. My wife attended the film festival screening (ie unrated version) with a number of colleagues and students, and apprently at least one of the more conservative undergraduates was a bit put off by the masterbatory scene at the beginning, among others. A couple other notes on the movie - I found the use of voice-over narration entirely too heavy-handed (my wife is more forgiving of it however). And the quality of the subtitle translation is poor - I speak basic spanish but need subtitles to follow a movie completely, so I tend to be listening and reading at the same time when watching movies such as this. At times the disconnect between what the dialogue and the subtitles said was bewildering.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly surprising
Review: One of the rare films that keeps you from fully understanding what you've been watching until the last few moments. The ending is a true surprise, and is deeply moving. Wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: Pepto Bismol in a motel room
Review: Two teenage kids,Tenoch and Julio, whose girlfriends are out for the summer, go on a trip to a lonely beach, with the wife of one of their cousins, Luisa (Maribel Verdu from Belle Epoque) whose husband just confessed that he has been straying.
Partly in revenge, she ends up having sex with Tenoch, which causes Julio to confess that he had had sex with his friend's girlfriend.
An argument ensues in the kids motel room, where, on the dresser, we can see, a liter bottle of Sol beer, and a bottle of Pepto Bismol. (Montezuma's curse being exorcised). Turns out the other kid had also had his friends girlfriend, so they end up even.
Luisa eventually ends up [sleeping with] Julio too, and later on both at a time.
The narrator explains the happenings and future occurences to many of the characters (and a herd of pigs, and some of the people who ate the pigs) That said, the film is a coming of age movie, with shades of "The Beach", and Bunuel's "Mexican Bus Journey" It is entertaining, well done, and of course Ms. Verdu makes the movie worthwhile. Worth watching, at least once.
Rating:
Summary: Amazon does not have 6 star but i give to this movie
Review: This movie is a perfect slice of life, natural in the story and does not cover any desaire and self exploring of this age . I`m from Europe and I can tell the guys in the movie is same as I and my friends used to be. Unfortunatelly this is not really for the American audience because this film is too free for the American ethic standard and most of us can not relate with the characters. The kids here in America this age live on playboy ( because the sex is forbiden until 18 but their blood is boilling because of the hormons ) and they don't have life or girfriend, or if they have they try to live and behave as they read in the "lifestyle magazine" or in the movies. I can offer this movie anyone who is open minded and they want to see what is the real self exploration of a teenager where the young years are free.
Rating:
Summary: Hot independent film
Review: This movie was unique, funny, entertaining , deep, erotic, smart film. Everything about this movie is good . It's about 2 17 or 18 yr old friends who meet this 28 yr old more experienced woman.They go on a little trip , a road trip to a secluded beach after thier girlfriends leave for europe. They vow to thier girlfriends they wont cheat on them and leave and in the process discover themselves and thier desires and feelings and learn about themselves and eachother and the feelings the 2 friends even have for eachother and the secrets they kept from eachother come out from all the happenings and passion going on between them and the woman thier with. The woman teaches them alot about thier feelings and actions and little do they know that the woman whos teaching them so much has problems of her own that she has to come to terms with, not trivial problems such as they have but serious problems. well there problems arnt trivial but her problem is alot worse. but in the end they all end up having a great time and learning from eachother, physically and mentally- but the boys dont realize that the woman had such a problem till the very end and then the end is very sad. not for the woman only , but the boys too who shared such a incredible friendship. The story is great, this dvd is worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Raunchy, Insightful and Poignant
Review: For those who shy away from foreign language films because they think they are boring or only for film snobs should see Alfonso Cuarón's "Y tu mamá, también." This film has more in common with "American Pie" or "Up in Smoke" than say, "A Room with a View." The story centers on two [over-sexed drug-induced]teenagers who convince the sexy wife of one of their cousins to go on a road trip with them. In a typical American teen comedy, the sexy older woman takes on a purely platonic role. For example, in John Hughes's "Weird Science," two boys create their concept of a perfect woman, but as soon as she is created, she becomes like a sister to them. It's essentially a tease to draw teenage boys into the theatre. In "Y tu mamá, también," the boys get more than just sisterly advise from their traveling companion. Marbiel Verdú as "Luisa Cortés" remains a sexual creature throughout. This makes for a more complex and ultimately satisfying film. Ms. Verdú creates a nice mix of maturity and emotion throughout in this film. Meanwhile, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna as the two boys capture the spirit of youth. They are also not afraid to go where the story leads them. See the film to find out. "Y tu mamá, también" deals with sexuality in a very frank and open way, unlike most American films. Some might find this quite refreshing. Others may be put off by it. A minor complaint about the film involves the sound mix. Throughout the film there is voiceover narration. Just before the narrator speaks, all other sounds abruptly disappear. Usually, when there is narration, the background noises are lowered, but are still perceptable underneath. At first I found this jarring, but eventually I got used to it. The film also has a cool contemporary soundtrack. Local Los Angeles area disc jockey Liza Richardson was one of the movie's music supervisors. The DVD also includes a lot of nice bonuses. "Me La Debes," a short film by Carlos Cuarón is a nice companion piece to the film. It also includes deleted scenes of "Y tu mamá, también" and a "making of" featurette. "Y tu mamá, también" was IFC's highest grossing film before "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" came along. It also won this year's Independent Spirit Award for "Best Foreign Film." Come and see why.
Rating: 
Summary: So what?
Review: This movie was a pointless waste of film stock. I had heard many great things about this movie, and expected to rent it and be faced with an intelligent, provocative portrait of humanity. I got soft-core Mexican porn with no story. Every character in this movie irritated me. Both the boys were immature, hypocritical and annoying. I hated them both. Also, that is not how seventeen year old boys act, no matter what their nationality. Luisa was a sad degenerate who was just as pathetic as anybody else in the film. Well, that's just my opinion. I didn't mind the sex, but after a while it got incredibly predictable, and very annoying. For a film, the sex was very natural, but it never added anything to develop characters or bring the story along. What bothered me most about this mess of a movie was the lack of plot. Nothing really happened. The film skips from sex scene to sex scene on a web of juvenile jokes and mindless exposition. These are occasionally mixed with totally pointless gross-out scenes, like when both boys "help themselves" on diving boards over a pool. Character developement? Not here. When a revelation finally comes, you already guessed it twenty minutes ago and you don't care. By far the best part of this movie was the narrator. The crystal-clear lucidity he brought to moments in the film was beautiful, especially in the end. His omniscient commentary almost makes the movie worth watching, but there just isn't enough of it. Before the narrator speaks, the sound cuts out abruptly, jarring the viewer out of the flow of the film. The first time it happened I thought there was something wrong with my DVD player. Overall, a very bad and over-hyped movie. Don't waste your time or money.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent film
Review: Quite an amazing achievement. Gael García Bernal sets himself to become an internationally recognized figure, because of his acting flexibility (Amores Perros, as an example). This movie is not an exemplification of American culture, and will definatelly produce a stur in this country. The story is about life and love in all its forms.
Rating:
Summary: FABULOUS MOVIE
Review: I sat down to watch this movie having no idea what it was about, or what had been said about it - I vaguely even remember it being released. Anyway, this was by far one of the best movies I've seen in a long time: funny, sexy and tragic, all at one and the same time. It was one of those movies that makes you feel sad when it's over because you just want it to continue.
Rating:
Summary: A mother's worst nightmare... and mine too!
Review: There is a lot of hype and rave reviews about this film, but alas, if you look at all the mixed reviews here at Amazon, you will quickly see that this is not the film it's cracked up to be. If it were an amazing film, you would not see nearly as many 1 star ratings as I did skimming through these reviews. Simply put, an excellent movie does not get this many bad reviews. Here is why it's so bad: First and foremost, I was a lad not very long ago and I can safely say that neither myself, nor anyone I could have ever imagined or seen around my age would ever have acted like these two boys do. Unless this is normal parts of growing up in Mexico, they way they act is simply not believable for someone who was once a 17-year-old US born teenage boy (and one who was very much into women, sex, and getting into trouble--but in nowhere near the fashion these two do). Secondly, not a lot happens in this film, and it is very hard to wade through it all, to reach a rather unfulfilling end. Not very exciting through the entire film, and while the actors do give believable performances, unfortunately as I just stated, the characters are just not believable. Third, it's about time that directors start learning that sexy movies do not have to show sex and nudity to be erotic to the audience. This film goes over the top with sex scenes that really don't have a place in any film. They do nothing to enhance the plot, and leaving them out, would certainly not have left the viewer missing anything. The only thing this viewer missed was a good film, because it just isn't there.
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